War 2 vs. Coolie Advanced Bookings: Rajinikanth Film Crosses $1 Million Mark; Hrithik-NTR Film Struggles!

Ayan Mukerji's spy thriller War 2, starring Hrithik Roshan and Jr. NTR, and Lokesh Kanagaraj's action movie Coolie, starring Rajinikanth, will square off on this Independence Day. Although advance reservations in India have not yet begun, Coolie is currently leading the field by a significant amount if US advance ticket sales are any indication.

The quickest Tamil movie to reach the $1 million mark in the US is Coolie. As of right now, Coolie has $1.06 million in advance bookings in North America. It is now the quickest Tamil movie to reach the $1 million pre-sale milestone in North America. This includes $850,000 from the US movie theaters alone, where more than 35,000 tickets have already been sold. According to rumors, it will be released with 1147 performances at 430 venues throughout the United States. 

With this achievement, Coolie has joined the select group of Tamil blockbusters that have made $1 million in North America based only on advance sales. Another Rajinikanth action drama, Pa Ranjith's Kabali (2016), which has made $1.92 million, and another Kanagaraj action thriller, Leo (2023), which starred Vijay and made $1.86 million in its North American pre-sales, are the other members of this exclusive club. At $1.1 million, Mani Ratnam's 2022 historical epic Ponniyin Selvan I currently holds the third position, after which Coolie is presently ranked.

Comparatively speaking, War 2 is far behind. Through 1585 performances at 582 sites throughout North America, it has amassed $168K. Only $150.9K of this total has been collected from US movie theaters. Even ten days before its global release, Coolie has already broken the $1 million mark in North American pre-sales, which War 2 might not even reach given its current pace. But last year, Koratala Siva's action tentpole, Devara, from NTR, was surpassed by War 2. War 2 is now the fastest Indian picture to reach the $100K pre-sales milestone in North America, having done it in just seven hours, compared to Devara's eleven hours.